Meggs details Sansom-Richburg-Odom charges

TALLAHASSEE - State prosecutor Willie Meggs took two pages to spell out the particulars of his case against Ray Sansom, Bob Richburg and Jay Odom.

Then he attached two more as his evidence of falsifying records.

Meggs - the state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit who is prosecuting state Rep. Sansom, former Northwest Florida State College President Richburg and Destin developer Odom - explained in his most recent court filings that the men conspired to change state budget wording, effectively disguising an airplane hangar as an emergency operations center and getting state funding to build it.

Allegedly falsified was the 2007-08 General Appropriations Act and a "Joint Use Project Note," both of which Meggs attached to his court filing.

"The person who typed the documents is unknown to the state," Meggs wrote. But "the person who was responsible or caused the falsified document to be produced is Raymond Edward Sansom or his principals James Robert Richburg or Jay Alan Odom."

Meggs was responding to Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis' order for more specifics on his accusations.

In a ruling last week, Lewis said allegations of falsified records and "corrupt intent" set forth in April in a grand jury's scathing indictment were "not sufficiently precise" for attorneys to prepare a defense.

"A general appropriations act is a fairly lengthy piece of legislation," Lewis wrote. "It's impossible to know from the charging document what part of the act was falsified, and in what way."

Although the defendants at least "can surmise" what conduct Meggs alleges violated the law, they are "entitled to a formal confirmation of this because it cannot be gleaned from the charging document itself," he wrote.

So Lewis ordered a "statement of particulars" with answers to four questions:

1. The specific parts of documents that were supposedly falsified;
2. The "manner and nature of the falsification;"
3. The person or persons responsible;
4. The person or persons who would either reap benefits or be harmed.

In his response, Meggs attached a Sansom memo directing a $6 million funding request for a "Jt-Use Emergency Workforce center w/ Okal. Co. Destin Airport."

There was no mention of Destin Airport in the budget line-item, which Meggs also attached: an "Okaloosa Jt Use Emergency Response Workforce Center" listed next to a $6 million figure.

"The budget item above misrepresented the purpose of the appropriation," Meggs wrote.

Sansom, Richburg and Odom stood to benefit from it, he said. Those harmed would have been "the taxpayers or citizens of Florida."

Neither Sansom nor his attorney were immediately available for comment.

Jimmy Judkins, Odom's attorney, was attending a funeral Tuesday, an employee at his law firm said. He did not immediately respond to a message.